Bad weather doesn’t dampen I.K. Kim’s game
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — I.K. Kim, the best player in women’s golf right now, emerged from the cold and wet with a 4-under 68 to build a two-shot lead in the Women’s British Open
A two-time winner on the LPGA Tour over the last two months, Kim dropped only one shot in some of the worst conditions at Kingsbarns Links and reached the halfway point at 11-under 133. She was two shots clear of Lexi Thompson and Georgia Hall of England.
Kim displayed a remarkable fortitude in weather that veered erratically toward the end of the day between bright sunshine and torrential downpours. The 29year-old from South Korea atoned for her lone bogey with three birdies and an eagle on the 538-yard 11th hole.
“The eagle was very unexpected,” Kim said before conceding her drive landed on a friendly downslope and gained an extra 30 yards or so.
“I think this was kind of as bad as the weather could get. I expected rain, but not like this. It’s not easy to play in this kind of weather. But I feel really good about my game. I’ve been hitting the ball very well and I’m starting to make some putts. That’s when I shoot low scores.”
Still, perhaps the most significant move came from Thompson, the No. 2 player in the world.
Two-over par and birdie-free after nineholes, the big-hitting Floridian played the homeward nine in 30 with six birdies — five in succession.
Even on that disappointing front nine, the eight-time LPGA champion struck her shots with an authority few in the women’s game can match.
“I actually hit it the same throughout both nines,” she said. “I just left myself with 30-40 feet on my two bogeys and three-putted them. I hit great shots. Going in, they were going right at the flag, but they both got bounces that went sideways. Then I didn’t make the second putt. But I hit it great the whole day and just got on a roll there on the back.”
Another key to Thompson’s success is her caddie, Kevin McAlpine. The former Scottish Amateur champion worked four summers at Kingsbarns and knows the course well.
“Kevin has helped with my decisionmaking on basically every hole,” said Thompson.
First-round leader Michelle Wie did not fare so well. The 27-year old American made only one birdie in a 76 that leaves her seven shots off the pace and in a tie for 21st with two rounds remaining. Wie has not won since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a second-straight round of 70 to sit at 4 under and tied for 21st. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (76) missed the cut.